Name: ______Date______Page 1

Cemetery Observations Lab

Vocabulary:weatheringmechanical weatheringabrasion weathering rate chemical weathering permeable

Introduction:

Nov 29 2001 - National Geographic

Graveyards hold many secrets. Information can be found on the tombstones. But can tombstones tell us about the effects of pollution?

One man thinks so. Scientist Tom Meierding has examined and measured about 15,000 tombstones in more than 700 cemeteries over 25 years to see if pollution caused by humans has an effect on the stones used in cemeteries. If pollution is weathering these stones, what is it doing to the stones we use in buildings, monuments and roads?

In this lab you will graph the results of Mr. Meierding’s findings. Based on the results of the graphing, you will need to answer the questions and make a prediction about the impact of the types of weathering on our environment.

Materials:

Graph paper (1 sheet for each student) year on the X axis (horizontal), cm on Y axis (vertical)

(see sample)

Colored pencils (1 color for each direction)

Procedure:

On the chart below you see the recorded amounts of weathering of one tombstone over a period of 140 years. Notice that the chart begins in 1820 and ends in 1960. Measurements were taken from all sides, represented by directions (N, S, E, & W). Measurements were taken every 20 years.

Using this data, you are to graph the results from all four sides.

  1. Beginning with West, plot the cm for all the years listed. Connect all the points with the same colored pencil.
  2. Repeat the same process for South, East & North, using a different pencil color for each direction.
  3. Answer all the questions below using the information from your completed graph.

DATA CHART: Loss of Depth in Tombstone Lettering in cm

Year / West / South / East / North
1820 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
1840 / .25 / .20 / .15 / .12
1860 / .40 / .30 / .25 / .20
1880 / .45 / .38 / .27 / .22
1900 / .51 / .45 / .30 / .24
1920 / .72 / .60 / .48 / .40
1940 / .93 / .87 / .65 / .53
1960 / 1.20 / 1.05 / .80 / .70

Questions:

  1. According to the chart, which direction on the tombstone faces had the greatest amount of weathering? ______

What are the possible reasons for this?

______

  1. According to the chart, which direction on the tombstone faces had the least amount of weathering? ______

What are the possible reasons for this?

______

  1. From your graph, is the rate of weathering constant? ______

Why or Why Not?

______

  1. During which 2 decades did the most weathering occur for each direction?

West ______South ______

East ______North ______

  1. What factors (climatic or environmental), other than the ones you listed, might

affect the rate of weathering of tombstones?

______

  1. Would these results be different in different locations on earth? Why?

______

7. Based on the data from this lab and information learned in class, what may

happen to the rate of weathering on tombstones, buildings and monuments

over the next 20 years?

______